Do you have frost on your windows?

 

In this cold Northern Alberta weather, it is hard to keep your windows clean and clear of frost no matter what you do. This frost build-up can cause something as easy to fix as unsightly water stains or something much more concerning like mold or major damage to window sills and wooden window frames to the point where they need to be replaced.

 

Here are three easy tips we use around our house to help keep our windows from frosting up on these cold winter days.

 

1 - Remove screens where possible.

 

We have found that removing the screens from the windows in the fall allows for better airflow close to the window and helps keep them from frosting up too badly during those cold winter days and nights.

 

2 - Open blinds/curtains during the day.

 

While this does not prevent the frost from building up it helps with removing the frost that has built up overnight by getting heat to the window during the day so it limits the total buildup of frost over time.

 

3 - Run a dehumidifier.

 

We have found the amount of moisture in our home can affect the amount of frost build up on your windows so we run a dehumidifier during the day to keep the humidity level lower in the home. Because we find our house dryer in the winter we only do this if needed so the dehumidifier is not running all the time.

 

4 - Don't cover heat vents.

 

A lot of the time there are heat vents below each window on the main floor in your home. This is great except most of the time this is where we put our furniture like beds and couches. We have tried our best not to cover these vents by either relocating the piece of furniture or, in the case of the couch, pulling further from the wall than normal as to not cover the heat vent.

 

The common factor for all of these fixes for use was airflow. Good airflow in and around the windows seems to be the key for our home and removing the screens in the fall, opening the blinds/curtains daily, keeping the heat vents clear, and even not having items piled up near windows all help lower the amount of frost that we have on the windows in our home.  

 

If you are concerned about how much frost is building up please reach out to a professional home inspector to see what steps you should take to help limit the amount of frost build-up that occurs and in turn less potential for a more serious issue to arise.

 

Thanks for reading and please feel free to share your ideas and comments below.

 

Justin